Shoe-horn



UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE.

D. E. EATON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE-HORN.

Specification of Letters Patent No.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, DAMEL E. EA'roN, of Boston, in the county of Suffolkand State of B'Iassachusetts, have invented an Improved Shoe-Horn; and Ido hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented inthe following specification and the accompanying drawings, of which-Figure l, denotes a side elevation of it; Fig. 2, a. top view of it;Fig. 3, an underside view; Fig. t, a front end view, and Fig. 5, alongitudinal section of it.

The purpose of the ordinary shoe horn is to guide the heel of a personsfoot into the heel of a shoe during the act of putting the shoe on thefoot. To an instrument of such kind I have added a nipper jaw or leverso applied as toenable the said shoe horn to perform two functions,viz., that of guiding the foot into the shoe and of drawing the shoe onthe foot by a pull on the instrument and compression of the heel of theshoebetwcen the jaws.

In the drawings, A, denotes Ya bent lever, constructed with one arm, a,in the usual form of that part of a shoe ho-rn, which is inserted withina shoe in order to guide the heel of a foot therein. This lever isconstructed with an elongated slot c, Whose sides for about two thirdsof the length of the slot are parallel or nearly so, but open wider nearthe rear part of the slot as shown at (Z. This slot is so made for thereception o-f another lever, B, formed as shown in the drawings, thefront arm of such lever being made of a flaring shape and curvedtransversely to fitto the outside surface of the heel of a shoe. Thisenlargement of the rear part of the slot c, is to enable the lever B, tobe inserted. through the slotand turned about therein so as to bring thenipper thereof into its proper relation or position with respect to theheel guide of the other lever. This having been done a joint pin e is tobe passed through the two levers in such manner as to enable the nipperlever to turn on it.

A spring f, is applied to the inner surface of one of the handles, g, L,of the two levers, and so as to force them apart, and open their 22,714,dated January 25, 1859.

jaws when they are relieved from a force tending to press them together.

By means of the improved shoe horn constructed and provided with anipper lever as described, a shoe may not only be guided, but pulled onthe foot of a person.

I am aware of the invention set forth in No. 11445, of United Statespatents whereby a spring clamp with a concave holding jaw is claimed incombination with a shoe slip or shoe horn.

I make no use of any such spring clamp, or one which when the shoe slipor horn is applied to the heel of a shoe, and the shoe is being drawn onthe foot by a pull on the instrument maintains its hold on the shoe bythe action of a spring.

In my improved instrument the hold of the nipper jaw on the shoe isobtained by the grasp of a persons hand during the act of drawing theshoe on his foot. The greater the resistance of the shoe the strongerwill be the grasp of the nipper jaw, the spring serving to open the jawsor in other words to force the nipper jaw away from the shoe horn. Thisresults from the peculiar application of the jaws to crossed levers. Anupward pull on a spring clamp, such as is represented in the said patenttends to lessen its hold on the shoe. So an upward pull on the springclamp shoe slip when the upper part of the slip and its spring clamp aregrasped by the hand of a person operates to loosen the hold of the clampon the shoe.

In view therefore of the invention as described in the said patent, I donot claim a shoe slip or horn-having a holding jaw forced against theslip or horn by a spring.

That therefore I claim is- The improved shoe horn as made with a heelguide and nipper jaw applied to tu o crossed levers and so as tooperate. together substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto .set my signature.

DANIEL E. EATON.

Titnesses R. I-I. EDDY, l F. I). I-IALE, Jr.

